Montana Teacher of the Year Linda Rost Announced as a Finalist for National Teacher of the Year

• January 16 2020

Montana Teacher of the Year Linda Rost Announced as a Finalist for

National Teacher of the Year

January 16, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced Thursday that Montana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Linda Rost, is a finalist for the National Teacher of the Year recognition. Mrs. Rost teaches science courses at Baker High School. She is one of four finalists out of the cohort of 55 state and territory teachers of the year from around the country.

“I am so humbled and honored to be selected as a National Teacher of the Year Finalist,” Linda Rost said Thursday. “I am passionate about rural education and providing the best possible education for all students. I am a product of the teacher shortage and came into teaching from another field. I hope to be an advocate across Montana and the nation for teacher recruitment and retention by exploring creative and innovative ways to recruit and retain teachers.”

“Montana is blessed to have some of the highest quality educators in the nation, and Mrs. Rost is proof of that,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen said Thursday. “I want to congratulate Linda on this extraordinary national achievement and thank her for making the Baker community and Montana proud!”

Mrs. Rost will be interviewed in Washington, D.C. at the end of February and one of the finalists will be named the 2020 National Teacher of the Year this spring by the 2020 National Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. The chosen educator will spend the next year traveling the country as an ambassador for education and an advocate for all teachers and students.

The last time Montana had a finalist for National Teacher of the Year was 2011 when Paul Andersen from Bozeman High School was selected. Montana has only had one National Teacher of the Year. Richard Nelson from Kalispell earned the honor in 1956.

The three other finalists are Chris Dier from Louisiana, Leila Kubesch from Ohio, and Tabatha Rosproy from Kansas.

The Montana Teacher of the Year program has been operated by the Montana Office of Public Instruction since 2018-19. The National Teacher of the Year Program has been administered by CCSSO, the national organization which represents state superintendents, since 1952. To learn more about the Montana program, visit: http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Montana-Teacher-of-the-Year.

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CONTACT:   Dylan Klapmeier

                       Director of Communications, Montana Office of Public Instruction

                       dylan.klapmeier@mt.gov

                       406-444-3559